Vedanta has silenced critics of its bauxite mining project in Kalahandi by transforming Orissa’s most backward tribal area with a decent rehabilitation package

THE PROBLEMS of the aluminum industry in Kalahandi, one of the most backward tribal majority districts in Orissa, are not new. There had been opposition even in the pre-independence era and after independence too, political parties and environmental activists continue to protest against the mining and setting up of refineries in Kalahandi.

In 1997, the then Orissa Chief Minister, Janaki Ballav Patnaik, had signed an MOU with Sterlite Industries, which later became Vedanta Alumina, for setting up a plant in the Lanjigarh region of Kalahandi district. In 2004, current Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik signed another agreement with Vedanta. Unlike the previous MOU, mining rights in the Niyamgiri hills were given to the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC).

This led to a spate of protests by NGOs who levelled serious allegations against Vedanta relating to financial irregularities and kickbacks, and also raised environmental concerns.

Of late, however, the protests have faded into the background, ostensibly because over the last three years, Vedanta has already constructed the refinery, commenced trial production and also started several community development activities. Its rehabilitation package has been the best in Orissa: all 120 families that were displaced have got pucca houses with round-theclock electricity and water supply, which was unheard of in this region so far. Apart from compensation for lost land, at least one youth from each displaced family have been trained and given a job in the refinery. Says Bada Dongria Majhi, a resident of the Vedanta rehabilited colony, “Earlier we were living with a lot of difficulty. We had small thatched huts, no electricity, not even any kero sene to light a lamp. But now we have good pucca houses, electricity, light, fan and all. Earlier there was a school far from this place and there was no teacher. Now we have a school, childcare and healthcare centres. We are happy.” About 2,500 people have found employment in the refinery project directly or indirectly.

Another thing that worked in their favour, locals say, was Sasya- Silpa Abhijan, a Vedanta-initiated project for vegetable cultivation, run in collaboration with the Asian Institute of Sustainable Development, which gave a boost to agriculture in the area. On 550 acres of land, nearly 500 farmers are participating in the project as “partners”. Dinanath Pangi, a farmer, says training and support from Vedanta has been helpful, although they bear the expenses for irrigation through diesel pump sets themselves. “The farmers are enthusiastic and things are going well,” says Gauntia, a local elder of Balavadrapur village.

Perhaps Vedanta realises that local development is the key to its own growth. It has also been offering a host of self-employment options for surrounding villages, including women’s self-help groups, and has collaborated with the district health department on the “Swastha Parivar” project, which Dr Srinibas Naik, the Chief District Medical Oficer for Kalahandi, calls a pioneering example of Public-Private Partnership in Orissa’s troubled health sector.

There is a thriving market now in what used to be a sleepy area. Regular buses ply to the district headquarters at Bhawanipatna and the state capital. Many locals have started buying vehicles and are making a decent income by hiring them out to Vedanta.

However, NGOs and political activists have been campaigning against what they call the “Vedanta deal” and had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court in 2006. Others have been protesting on environmental grounds too. A former union minister and a Berhampur-based activist, Bhakta Charan Das, had been leading a campaign against Vedanta saying that two major rivers, Bansadhara and Nagavalli, both originating from Niyamgiri, would dry up due to bauxite mining in the area and cause problems for the Indravati Hydro Electricity Project. But the Nagavalli does not originate from Niyamgiri. It originates from the Jatangpada area of Thuamul Rampur block, 100 kms away, and the Indravati Reservoir is also about 150 kms away from Niyamgiri. So, if at all, only the Vansadhara river will be partially affected. But mining experts like Prof. Golak Bihari Mishra argue, “No river or stream will dry up. The example of Panchpat Mali mines of NALCO is there for all to see. No such thing has happened even after 20 years of mining there.”

However, three other alumina plants are coming up in the region. They will be mining in Kalahandi but will not set up plants there, which may lead to agitation among the locals.

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main39.asp?filename=Bu210608newerain.asp

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